


Neutral on Waffles

by pixcat



Category: RWBY
Genre: College AU, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 21:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5514752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixcat/pseuds/pixcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby is usually the only one making use of the open-24-hours cafeteria in her dorm, except for very late one Friday night (or, maybe early Saturday morning) when she happens to make herself some waffles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neutral on Waffles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Darren](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Darren).



> Prompt: "I thought I was the only one who liked the waffle station in the cafeteria. 
> 
> I don't own RWBY! Also real talk, how great would a dorm cafeteria set up like that be? My dining hall closes at like 10:30. I can only dream. Also, this is sort of a request from my friend Darren, who wants me to also write this prompt with Bumbleby, which'll theoretically happen at some point. (probably)

Ruby liked going out with Yang on Friday nights, but unlike her sister, it was not something she could do every weekend. She had had a quiet week, and was really looking forward to continuing it with a quiet night in to study, or draw, or pop open her Netflix queue.

Or, better yet, all three.

And so she found herself sitting in her perpetually-open dining hall with her textbook and notes sprawled around her, her laptop, and her drawing tablet, taking up nearly all of the booth she occupied. She had taken a lot of notes earlier, but an innocent fifteen minute doodle break turned into working on the doujinshi she was making of a show she watched -- and was actively watching at the time, glancing up between strokes of her pen.

Everything was fine until she noticed her stomach was growling. For the first time in who knows how many episodes of her show, she glanced at the clock on her screen. 1:38am.

Her dining hall was open twenty four hours since it was located inside her dorm, and some of the parts that served food were automated. Sometimes insomnia kept her up, but she operated better at night anyway. The chairs were comfortable, and after midnight she never saw another soul there, so she found herself there many nights a week.

She was glad nobody else was there to hear her stomach protesting from lack of food, but felt her mood sink a bit when she realized the main part of the dining hall had closed at 11pm. All she had left to choose from was cereal, some miscellaneous grab-and-go food from vending machines and -- waffles!

Mood once again lifted, Ruby dug her student ID card out of her backpack and all but sprinted to the waffle station. She swiped her card through the refrigerated machine, selected the batter she wanted (she opted for the classic honey vanilla flavor), and waited while the machine whirred. The small milk-carton of batter sat on the collection platform for barely a second before Ruby snatched it up, poured it into one of the presses, and tenderly closed the lid.

Once she was sure the press was heating up, she realized she had a few minutes, and went back to get her phone. As she walked back, she started snapping photos of the cats visiting her yard in a new game she had downloaded. When she reached the waffle station, a confused and slightly startled looking girl with long white hair falling over expensive-looking pajamas was staring at her from in front of the other waffle station. A partially opened carton of batter was in her right hand.

Ruby jumped at the same time the other girl flinched -- it was brief and minor, but Ruby noticed nonetheless.

“Whoa!” Ruby exclaimed.

The other girl, having collected herself, stared in silence, narrowing her eyes. “It’s rude to stare. What, have you not seen anyone make waffles before?”

Ruby glanced at her own waffle maker, displaying a minute and a half before she had to flip it. “Not very often?”

With a _humph_ that sounded like she was disgruntled and clearing her throat, the other girl turned and started pouring her batter into an open station.

Suddenly unsure of what to do with herself now that she was not alone, Ruby shuffled back to where she had been standing before she went to get her phone. She started flipping through old screenshots of her cats, but a persistent, nagging voice in her head told her what she was doing was awkward.

The other girl was leaning against the wall a few feet away filing her nails with a tired and absentminded expression on her face. Ruby noticed she had icy blue eyes, one of them with a scar slicing through her eyebrow. Before she could start to wonder how someone so elegant got such a long scar in such a place, Ruby noticed the girl’s eyes were a light pink, and her cheeks flushed with a fading red. The signs were faint, but noticeable.

Ruby’s observation did nothing to make her feel less uncomfortable. She shot a cringing glance at the cats staring up at her from her screen, chewed on her lip for a second, and opened her mouth to say something. Just as words (what words, she hadn’t decided) were about to come out of her mouth, her waffle press beeped, signalling that it was time to turn. The other girl glanced up only for a second before realizing it was Ruby’s, and went back to her rhythmic nail filing.

Half stumbling the three steps forward, Ruby shoved her phone in the pocket of her hoodie and rotated the waffle maker. The timer displayed “2:30” in its ever-familiar bright red letters, and Ruby allowed herself to return to her position of safety against the wall.

A moment later and history repeated itself, Ruby wading knee deep through waves of anxiety to try and say something, just for the other girl to have to rotate her own waffles.

“So uhh,” Ruby clutched at her phone, “You must really like waffles.”

“No more than anyone else,” the girl inspected the nail she was filing.

“Coming down here at 2am seems pretty dedicated to me!” Ruby turned and smiled at her. The other girl was not looking at her, which she thought was a shame because the girl’s bright hair was now blocking Ruby’s view of her blue eyes.

“You’re here as well, what does that say about you?”

“Oh, I’m down here all the time. This is normal for me,” Ruby said. “Although I guess I do love waffles a lot.”

“My name is Weiss,” the girl offered. “and I am neutral on waffles.” At her last word, she looked up from her nails and gave Ruby a brief scan with her sharp blue eyes.

“I’m Ruby!” a smile beamed on her face. “Nice to meet you, Weiss!”

“And you I supp--,” Weiss was cut off by the sound of Ruby’s station. “Looks like you’re done, Ruby.”

Ruby nodded and shuffled forward, forking her waffle out onto a plate and putting her usual amount butter and syrup on it. “Hey, Weiss, if you want, you can come sit with me for a bit. I’ve just been working on drawings for dog knows how long, gets a little lonely.”

Ruby could see Weiss mulling the invitation over in her head as she held Ruby’s eye contact. She started to open her mouth but hesitated for another moment, glancing away before replying, “I should really get back to my room, it’s quite late.”

She felt sad hearing the rejection, and proceeded to feel weird for feeling sad. She swiftly swiped her card for a bottle of milk, collecting herself and casting one last look at the strange and slightly ethereal girl. The only logical solution to her predicament was, of course, to flee.

“Oh, okay, well, hopefully see you around.” She hoped her voice was not audibly deflated, and shuffled back to her booth near one of the fireplaces.

She slid her headphones back on over her ears, woke up her laptop, and played the next episode while she started to cut up her waffle. Just as the opening was finished and the episode was starting, she felt the presence of someone standing next to her. Not having noticed anyone approaching, Ruby’s heart sped up. She slapped the spacebar of her keyboard to pause her show and nearly ripped her headphones off.

As she turned, her racing heart seemed to trip over itself for a moment. There was Weiss, standing with her plate of waffles, one eyebrow raised as her sharp eyes dug down into Ruby’s.

“Well, where am I supposed to sit?”


End file.
